Tennis court marker



June 5, 1945. w. H. HANN TENNIS COURT MARKER Filed Sept. 22, 1943 II TPatented June 5, 1945 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE- William H. Hann,Hackettstown', N. J.

Application September 22, 1943, Serial No. 503,349

2 Claims.

This invention relates to marking devices, and is particularly adaptedto devices for marking tennis courts, roads, or any other surface wherea line of a particular width and contour is desired.

An object of the invention is to provide a marker which will give anaccurate line without overflow on the edges, which may be easily andsimply guided in the desired direction.

A further object is to provide a marker in which the flow of materialmay be more readily and accurately controlled so that the operation ofthe device may be quickly started and stopped.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will appear as thedescription proceeds.

In the accompanying drawing Figure 1 is a side elevation showing myimproved marker in use;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged side elevation;

Fig. 3 is an end view thereof;

Fig. 4 is a top plan view;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged view taken in the direction of the arrows 5-5shown in Fig. 2;

Fig. 6 is a cross sectional view taken on the line 6-6 of Fig. 2 showingthe marker in operative position;

Fig. 7 is a view similar to Fig. 6 showing the marker in inoperativeposition;

Fig. 8 is a perspective view of the controls.

In marking tennis' courts or other surfaces it is desirable that themarkings be accurate and along predetermined lines. Accordingly, I haveprovided a device which may be guided by a cord or cable stretched overthe area to be marked. This cord or cable engages an arm whichdetermines the path of movement of the device. I also provide a tankcontaining the marking fluid under pressure, a pair of nozzles, thedirection of which is limited by marking shields.

In the accompanying drawing my marker l includes a tank mounted by meansof a band l2 on the wheels l3 and I4. The. front end l of the tank II isremovable and is held in place by means of the wing nuts It so that byremoving the wingnut I6 the front l5 can be withdrawn for cleaning orfilling purposes. Mounted on the front I 5 is a bracket 1 in which ismounted the pivot l8 carrying the fork HI and the castor wheel 20.Fastened to the fork I9 is an angle guide 2| which is slotted at 22 toengage a guide line 23. A pump 26 having an operating plunger 27 and anoperating handle 28 is mounted on the side of the tank II to maintainpressure within the tank.

It will be seen that line 23 on the stanchions bring the plate memberstogether 24 and 25 may be set up over the area to be marked. Line 23 isengaged by slot 22 of the angle guide 2|. The operator controlling thehandle 28 will push the marker along the ground and the castor wheel 20will pass over the area immediately under the guide line 23. Guide line23 may be attached to stanchion 24, held by a pin 29 or preferably heldby a stanchion such as 25 which consists of an angle member having aweighted portion 30 engaging the ground and adapted to hold thestanchion in an upright position. When marking a tennis court point 3|of the stanchion may be set behind peg 32 normally marking the courtboundary.

At the bottom of the tank there are provided a plurality of nozzles 4|and 42 which preferably are set within a nozzle member 43 and have theiropen inner ends 45 covered by a valve member 46 mounted on the rod 41.Nozzle protecting shields 48 and 49 are provided to prevent injury tothe nozzles themselves and to define the area to be marked. The nozzlesare preferably directed to cover an overlapping area as is shown in Fig.6 so that an even fiow of material-is provided for the surface to becovered.

Shield members 50 and 5| are hinged at 52 and 53 respectively and areengaged by the arms 54 and 55 so that their movement on the hinges 52and 53 are controlled by the position of these arms. Springs 56 and 51tend to keep the shield members closed as shown in Fig. 7 when theoperating lever 60 is free. The operating member 69 is fastened by meansof a collar 6| to the pump 26. The operating lever 60 is adapted to besqueezed by the operator against the operating handle 28 to raise theshaft 62 against the spring 63 positioned by the rod 64 on the side ofthe tank I. Shaft 62 pivoted at 65 to the U-shaped member 66 is fastenedby the block 61 against the bottom of the tank. Mounted on the U-shapedmember 66 is a shaft 68 pivoted to the rod 41 controlling the valve 46.

It will be seen that by gripping the handle 28 and the lever 60 theoperator will not only open the plates 55 and 5| but will likewise openthe valve 46 to allow the marking fluid to be discharged through thenozzles 4| and 42. Plates 50 and 5| clearly define the area to be markedand the position of the nozzles is such that fluid is sprayed across theentire area. By releasing the operating lever 60 the spring 63 causesthe valve 46 to close and the springs 56 and 51 to as shown in Fig. 7 tocompletely stop the flow of material.

It will be seen that I have provided a device simple in operationcontaining a relatively few number of parts which will accurately marklines along a predetermined line and which may be readily operated byone person. While my device is particularly adapted for use as a tenniscourt marker it can be applied to many different uses with minoradjustments.

I claim:

1. A marking device comprising a tank adapted to contain markingfiuid, aplurality of nozzles on said tank, a, valve for such nozzles, a pair ofshield members pivotally mounted on the tank and adapted to enclose saidnozzles when closed! and to define the area to be marked when open,means for maintaining pressure within said tank and means forsimultaneously opening or closing said shield members and said valve.

2. A marking device comprising a tank mounted for movement along asurface, a plurality of nozzles on said tank, a valve for said nozzles,a pair of shield members pivotally mounted on the tank and adapted toenclose said nozzles, spring meansfor normally holding said shieldmembers in the closed positions, and an operating handle controllingsaid shield members and said valve.

WILLIAM H. HANN.

